I can assure you that the enormous number of back-to-back games, the fast-and-furious level of injuries, personnel moves, the ups and downs of huge wins and devastating losses combined with no emotional recovery time and the intensity of competition will be just as mentally and emotionally exhausting for fans as it is for players and the media, and the mad dash for 8 playoff spots will probably go down to the season's final days for the vast majority of the league's teams, Detroit included, even if the Wings do a fantastic job of bolstering the lineup at or slightly before the April 3rd trade deadline.

In any case, here's the schedule, which includes 11 sets of back-to-back games, an away-and-still-away pair of games against the Ducks, five "West Coast Swings" and a pair of four-game road trips in late March and the middle of April:

Here's the schedule, broken down month-by-month, with all times listed in either Eastern Standard or Eastern Daylight Time, and home games listed in italics:

January 2013:

Friday, January 19th: Detroit @ St. Louis 8 PM

Monday, January 21st: Detroit @ Columbus 7:30 PM

Tuesday, January 22nd: Detroit vs. Dallas 7:30 PM

Friday, January 25th: Detroit vs. Minnesota 7:30 PM

Sunday January 27th: Detroit @ Chicago 7 PM

Tuesday January 29th: Detroit vs. Dallas 7:30 PM

February 2013:

Friday, February 1st: Detroit vs. St. Louis 7:30 PM

Saturday, February 2nd: Detroit @ Columbus 7 PM

Tuesday, February 5th: Detroit vs. Calgary 7:30 PM

Thursday, February 7th: Detroit @ St. Louis 8 PM

Saturday, February 9th: Detroit vs. Edmonton 2 PM

Sunday, February 10th: Detroit vs. Los Angeles 12:30 PM

Wednesday, February 13th: Detroit vs. St. Louis 7:30 PM

Friday, Feburary 15th: Detroit vs. Anaheim 7:30 PM

Sunday, February 17th: Detroit @ Minnesota 6 PM

Tuesday, February 19th: Detroit @ Nashville 8 PM

Thursday, February 21st: Detroit vs. Columbus 7:30 PM

Saturday, February 23rd: Detroit vs. Nashville 7 PM

Sunday, February 24th: Detroit vs. Vancouver 5 PM

Wednesday, February 27: Detroit @ Los Angeles 10:30 PM

Thursday, February 28: Detroit @ San Jose 10:30 PM

March 2013:

Sunday, March 3rd: Detroit vs. Chicago 12:30 PM

Tuesday, March 5th: Detroit vs. Colorado 7:30 PM

Thursday, March 7th: Detroit vs. Edmonton 7:30 PM

Saturday, March 9th: Detroit @ Columbus 2 PM

Sunday, March 10th: Detroit vs. Columbus 5 PM

Wednesday, March 13th: Detroit @ Calgary 9:30 PM

Friday, March 15th: Detroit @ Edmonton 9:30 PM

Saturday, March 16th: Detroit @ Vancouver 10 PM

Wednesday, March 20th: Detroit vs. Minnesota 7:30 PM

Friday, March 22nd: Detroit @ Anaheim 10 PM

Sunday, March 24th: Detroit, still @ Anaheim, 8 PM

Monday, March 25th: Detroit @ Phoenix 10 PM

Thursday, March 28th: Detroit @ San Jose 10:30 PM

Sunday, March 31st: Detroit vs. Chicago 12:30 PM

April 2013:

Monday, April 1st: Detroit vs. Colorado 7:30 PM

Trade deadline: April 3rd at 3 PM EDT

Thursday, April 4th: Detroit @ Phoenix 10 PM

Friday, April 5th: Detroit @ Colorado 9 PM

Sunday, April 7th: Detroit vs. St. Louis 12:30 PM

Thursday, April 11th: Detroit vs. San Jose 7:30 PM

Friday, April 12th: Detroit @ Chicago 8:30 PM

Sunday, April 14th: Detroit @ Nashville 7:30 PM

Wednesday, April 17th: Detroit @ Calgary 9:30 PM

Saturday, April 20th: Detroit @ Vancouver 10 PM

Monday, April 22nd: Detroit vs. Phoenix 7:30 PM

Wednesday, April 24th: Detroit vs. Los Angeles 7:30 PM

Thursday, April 25th: Detroit vs. Nashville 7:30 PM

Saturday, April 27th: Detroit @ Dallas 8 PM

Cue the comments and observations from the press, starting with this odd one from NHL.com's Brian Hedger (via the Macomb Daily's Chuck Pleiness):

By my count, #Redwings and #Blackhawks only play four times this season. Jan. 27 (CHI), Mar.3 (DET), Mar. 31 (DET), Apr. 12 (CHI)

Detroit opens the season on Jan. 19 at St. Louis and then travel to Columbus on Jan. 21.

The Wings’ home opener is Jan. 22 against Dallas.

Of their four Central Division rivals, the Wings play the Blue Jackets and Blues five times each, while facing Chicago and Nashville four times apiece.

The two players that Wings pursed heavily this offseason – Ryan Suter and Zach Parise – come to Joe Louis Arena with the Minnesota Wild on Jan. 25.

Former Wing Jiri Hudler returns to Detroit on Feb. 5 with the new team, the Calgary Flames.

Jordin Tootoo visits Nashville, where he played the last eight seasons, on Feb. 19.

Just a few nights later, the Predators, who eliminated the Wings in the first round of the playoffs last season, play in Detroit on Feb. 23.

The month of March doesn’t look pretty at all for the Wings travel wise, after a three-game road trip to Western Canada (Calgary, March 13; Edmonton, March 15; Vancouver, March 16), they return home for a game March 20 against Minnesota before going back the West Coast for four more games (Anaheim, March 22 and 24; Phoenix, March 25; San Jose, March 28).

After a three-game home stretch, Detroit closes the season April 27 at Dallas.

Of the Wings’ 48 games this season, 12 are part of back-to-back nights.

The Detroit Red Wings, and all NHL clubs, won't have much time for rest and recovery during this lockout-shortened season.

The Red Wings will play 48 games in 99 days, beginning Jan. 19 at St. Louis and ending April 27 in Dallas. Their home opener is Jan. 22 vs. the Stars.

The NHL released the schedule, which features only intraconference games, Saturday night after signing a memorandum of understanding with the NHL Players Association, officially ending the lockout.

Detroit's slate include 12 sets of games on consecutive days. They play 12 of their first 19 games at Joe Louis Arena but pay for it on the back end. The toughest stretch, travel-wise, is from March 13-April 5, when they play nine of 12 on the road in three separate trips to the West Coast and/or Western Canada. A quirk sees them play back-to-back games in Anaheim March 22-24.

Four of their first 13 games are against the St. Louis Blues, the 2011-12 Central Division winners.

The Red Wings play the Blues and Columbus Blue Jackets five times each and have two games apiece with their other Central Division rivals, the Chicago Blackhawks and Nashville Predators.

They play the 10 other teams in the Western Conference three times each.

The Red Wings have four home Sunday matinees that begin at 12:30 p.m., presumably for NBC (Feb. 10 vs. Los Angeles, March 3 and 31 vs. Chicago and April 7 vs. St. Louis).

The Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings make their second trip to Detroit on April 24.

Detroit, MI…The Detroit Red Wings today announced their 2012-13 schedule that has the Wings playing 48 games in 99 days as Detroit looks to extend its 21-season playoff streak, the longest current streak in professional sports.

Detroit’s first home game is scheduled to be played on Tuesday, Jan. 22, versus the Dallas Stars. Tickets to this match and all 24 of the Red Wings’ 2012-13 home games are set to go on sale this coming Thursday, Jan. 17, beginning at 1:00 p.m. As part of the Red Wings ‘Thanks for sticking with us’ initiative, the club and Ticketmaster have teamed up for 35 hours of no fees for any regular season ticket purchased. From 1:00 p.m. on Thursday through midnight Friday, tickets purchased at Detroitredwings.com, Ticketmaster.com, the Joe Louis Arena Box Office or by calling 313-396-7575 will be Fee-Free.

Full season ticket packages as well as Six and 12 Game Plans are on sale now. For more information, contact the Red Wings Ticket Sales & Service Office at 313-396-7575 or visit DetroitRedWings.com.

Full season ticket packages as well as six and 12 Game Plans are on sale now.

Update #3.5: Paul has the list of games covered by the NHL Network already.

I subscribe to GameCenter Live Online, so I promise that I will get Center Ice and GameCenter ino to you as soon as I receive it. I'm worried about it, too. The whole "being a fellow fan" thing applies here. I pay money to go to games and cheer just like you do.

Update #4: Twitter's embed code is being dorky, so here's Ted Kulfan's take on the sked thus far...

Wings play STL and Columbus five times each...CHI and NASH four each and everybody else three times

Sked is a beast late..Red Wings have it pretty manageable early on.

Some quirks...A trip to LA and SAN JOSE Feb. 27-28 back-to-back...To CGY, ED, VAN March 13-16...Play in Anaheim March 22 and 24

So the road travel picks up the latter half of the (short) season....It's going to be a lot of back and forth travel....Won't be easy

Here's more from Wakiji...

#RedWings on road 3/15-16 at Calgary, Edmonton. Home 3/20 v. Minnesota. Then off to Anaheim for 2 3/22 & 3/24. At Phoenix 3/25, at SJ 3/28.

"If you look at our schedule, the first three weeks, every road game is in our division," Holland said We've got a stretch from late February through late March where we have to make three or four trips out west. That's going to be tough."

The Wings have their longest trip of the season in late March, when they start March 22 at Anaheim, play at the Ducks again March 24, play March 25 at Phoenix, then go back to California for a March 28 date at San Jose. They finish the season April 27 at Dallas.

First, they'll have a week's worth of camp.

"Everybody is chomping at the bit," Holland said.

Physicals revealed a few players are questionable beyond Helm. Defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo has a sore shoulder, but he skated Friday and said he expects to be ready next weekend when the season starts.

Forward Patrick Eaves remains sidelined by a concussion, and goaltender Joey MacDonald, who wouldn't have been in Detroit anyways, has a back issue.

Holland said the only Wings player who didn't take a physical was Pavel Datsyuk, who is staying in Russia through the weekend to compete in the KHL All-Star Game weekend. Datsyuk won Saturday's "penalty shot" competition with a backwards backhand goal scored on Traktor Chelyabinsk's Michael Garnett.

The Red Wings open up the season next Saturday in St. Louis before traveling to Columbus for a Martin Luther King Day game on Jan. 21 against the Blue Jackets in Ohio’s capital city.

“Of course it's a lot of hockey in a short amount of days but in the same way we're real excited to be back playing," Red Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg said. "I think most of the games we'd rather play games than practice. So we're looking forward to this and it will be a special season. In the end when you lift the Cup I don't think it really matters.''

Detroit will open the home portion of its schedule against the Dallas Stars on Jan. 22.

Because of the compressed schedule, the Red Wings will play 20 back-to-back games, including four sets that are home-and-away.

In the schedule matrix, the Eastern and Western Conference team will only play conference opponents with a greater emphasis on divisional rivalries. So the Red Wings are slated to play Central Division foes St. Louis and Columbus five times each, and Chicago and Nashville four times each. The remaining 10 teams in the West will face-off against the Red Wings three times each.

Besides the MLK Day in Columbus, the Red Wings will play on three other holidays: Groundhogs Day (Feb. 2 at Columbus); Easter Sunday (Mar. 31 vs. Chicago); April Fools Day (Apr. 1 vs. Colorado); and Earth Day (Apr. 22 vs. Phoenix).

One quirky note about the schedule, the Wings will play back-to-back game in Anaheim on Friday, March 22 and Sunday, March 24. Wings’ fans will have a chance to get a look at the reigning Stanley Cup champions when the Los Angeles Kings visit Joe Louis Arena for a special matinee game, which will be broadcast live by NBC on Sunday, Feb. 10. It is the first of four Wings’ games that will be carried by the national network. The others are March 3 and March 31 (vs. Chicago); and April 7 (vs.) St. Louis).

Weird that it’s unbalanced vs the division (5 v COL and STL, 4 v rest of Central), but made sure to play everyone else 3 times… Not to mention, a couple of brutal road trips, but that’s pretty par for the course. Not to say I envy the schedule makers their task.

About The Malik Report

The Malik Report is a destination for all things Red Wings-related. I offer biased, perhaps unprofessional-at-times and verbose coverage of my favorite team, their prospects and developmental affiliates. I've joined the Kukla's Korner family with five years of blogging under my belt, and I hope you'll find almost everything you need to follow your Red Wings at a place where all opinions are created equal and we're all friends, talking about hockey and the team we love to follow.